Floor construction



Sept. 20, 1938. c. HOVEY FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 28, 1958 BY ATToRisYS Patented Sept. 20, 1938 UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFIQE FLOORCONSTRUCTION Mo., a corporation Application February 28, 1938, SerialNo. 193,106

Claims.

This invention relates to floor construction and particular means formaintaining the floor boards of railway cars in place upon the carsills, and the primary object is to provide a specially con- 5 structedclip for securing the floor boards in place.

One of the important aims of the instant invention is to provide a clipfor floor construction of the aforementioned character, which clip ismade of resilient sheet metal and formed in a special fashion so as topresent a longitudinally arched body one end of which'has an arcuatebearing face thereon for engaging the undersurface of the floor boardalong a line extending transversely across the floor clip, which line ofcontact changes as the nut on the retaining bolt of the structure istightened.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a resilientfloor clip of the nature specified, which clip engages the floor boardand sill of the floor structure in such fashion as to hold theintermediate portion thereof an appreciable distance away from theunderlying portions of the floor board and sill so that as normalexpansion and contraction of the parts with which the clip is employed,takes place, its resilient capacity will be sufficient to compensate forthe change, yet strong enough to maintain the floor board and sill inplace.

A yet further aim of the invention is to provide a clip for floorconstruction which has a specially longitudinally arched body, theintermediate portion whereof, is perforated to receive an anchoring boltand which portion arches inwardly as the nut of the anchoring bolt istightenedall to the end that the straight edges of the nut have linecontact with the outer surface of the clip body when the said straightedges of the nut are moved to transverse positions on either side of theanchoring bolt.

Heretofore, clips for car floor constructions have been provided withmeans for penetrating the floor board so that as the board shrinks orexpands, due to climatic conditions, the clip will become loosened to acondition where it will jar out of the operative position. Suchaforesaid types of clips therefore, have a destructive effect upon thefloor boards and when the common practice of reversing the same isbrought into play,

the surface of the board originally engaged by the clip is objectionablytorn and marred.

It has been found that a floor clip which has been so treated so as tobe resilient or in the nature of-anexceptionally strong,short, arcuateas spring, need not beprovided with means for objectionably piercing thefloor board and further need not be equipped with separate units forprecluding the accidental rotation of the securing nut which is carriedby the anchoring bolt.

The preferred form of floor construction where- 5 in is included thespecially made clip is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional View through a portion of a railwaycar floor showing a clip made in accordance with the present in- 10vention. I

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line IIII of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar fragmentary detailed sectional View taken on lineIII-III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line IV-IV ofFig. 3; and,

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the clip member per se showing the sameentirely removed from association with the remaining parts of the floor20 structure.

It is customary in floor constructions of the nature with which thespecially created clip is to be used, to rest the floor boards 8 uponthe horizontally extending flange H] of sill I2 and to 25 secure saidboards 8 in such position through the medium of clip 14 which spans orbridges the joint between board and flange 8 and I0 respectively, asshown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

A threaded bolt it passes through board 8 so '30 that a length thereofdepends therebelow and so that the longitudinal axis thereof is spacedoutwardly from the edge of flange Ill approximately one inch.

Clip I4 is longitudinally arched so that in its '35 original form itappears substantially as illustrated in Fig. 5. Clip 14 is provided witha perforation l8 which has its axis on the longitudinal axis-of clip Hi.This perforation i8 is through the intermediate portion of clip 14 andmidway 0 between the ends. Perforation l8 iselongated and its major axisis on .the longitudinal axis of clip l4 so that as the intermediate:portion of the clip is arched inwardly, the sides of perforation I8will not grip bolt 16. 45

Theend of clip M which engages the underside of board 8 is formed. topresent an arcuate bearing face 20. The undersurface of board 8 isalways at a tangent to the said arcuate face and therefore, a linecontact between this end of 50 clip 14 and board 8 extends transverselyacross the clip at different points, as the body of clip [4 is flexedduring the tightening 'of nut ,22. The other end of clip Hi bearsdirectly against the underside of flange l0 formed on sill l2 and when 5the ends of clip 14 are positioned as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing,the intermediate portion thereof is an appreciable distance from theunderlying parts of board 8 and flange Ii] respectively.

When nut 22 is tightened, the straight edges 24 thereof come into linecontact with the outer face of clip I 4 on transverse lines between bolt16 and the ends of clip l4. These straight edges 24 therefore, with theconcave outer face of inwardly arched portion 26 of clip 14, create arelation of parts which tend to lock nut 22 .against rotation. It isnecessary to exert a force upon nut 22 that is great enough to furtherflex the resilient body of clip l4 before nut 22 can be turned upon boltI 5. Obviously, it is desirable to use a square nut 22, which presentsopposite straight edges 24 so that the diagonal distance across theinner face of nut 22 will be great enough to prove a substantial barrierto the accidental turning of nut 22.

The placement of perforation l8 on the medial transverse line of clip 14insures that tightening nut 22 will create an inwardly arched portion 23as and for the purpose contemplated. In securing clip l4 in place, itsform changes from that shown in dotted lines of Fig.1 to that shown infull lines in said figure. The position shown in full lines is at normalgripping position and the resilient property of the clip when in suchposition insures that a holding force will always be exerted within theextreme limits of expansion and contraction of either floor board 8,sill and flange l0 and E2, or bolt I6. The body of clip it when so heldintermediate its ends will follow the undersurfaces of flange l0 andboard 8 and the parts will thereby be held in assembled relation untilbolt 22 is purposely loosened.

Clip I 4 is made of inch stock which is heat treated in the conventionaltype electric furnace and then quenched in the usual fashion, toestablish the desired amount of resiliency. The length of clip [4 fromend to end is substantially 4%, inches and its width should be about 1/2 inches. The shorter diameter of perforation I8 is but a fewthousandths greater than the diameter of the A2 inch bolt so that anydanger of accidental transverse tipping during placement of the clip isovercome. The use of clips M which have been purposely made resilientand that have a greater portion intermediate their ends, spaced from theunderlying surfaces of board and sill flange are found to be highlydesirable and when one such clip is used to hold each floor board 8 inplace against the underlying sill, there can be no accidental looseningand therefore objectionable displacement.

It has been found desirable to form detents 28 on the side of clip 14next to nut 22. These detents are small dome-shaped, integral membersdisposed beside the opposed edges 24 of nut 22 so that they present afurther barrier against the accidental turning of said nut 22.

Detents 28 may be formed prior to heat treating clip M by forcing smallareas of the clip outwardly at points close to the edges of nut 22. Theheight of detents 28 is not great enough to hold nut 22 against movementwhen the clip is being applied as the nut is turned to loosen its holdon the underside of clip Hi.

When intermediate portion 26 of clip M is inwardly arched, these detents28 are actually on a concave portion, the fact of which is in linecontact with edges 24.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a floor construction having a flanged sill and a floor boardsupported thereby, the combination of a perforated, longitudinallyarched clip formed of resilient sheet metal, said clip having its innerface at one end bearing against the floor board and its inner face atthe other end bearing against the flange of said sill; a screw threadedbolt anchored in the floor board and extending through the perforation;and a nut threaded onto the bolt against the outer face of the clipsubstantially midway between the ends of said clip, that portion of theclip intermediate its ends being spaced an appreciable distance from theunderlying portion of the flange and floor board when the nut istightened to secure the latter together, the resilient property of saidclip being such as to permit normal expansion and contraction of thesill, the floor board and the bolt as all of the aforesaid parts areheld together with sufficient force to preclude displacement.

2. In a floor construction having a flanged sill and a floor boardsupported thereby, the combination of a perforated, longitudinallyarched clip formed of resilient sheet metal, said clip having its innerface at one end bearing against the floor board and its inner face atthe other end bearing'against the flange of said sill; a screw threadedbolt anchored in the floor board and extending through the perforation;and a nut threaded onto the bolt against the outer face of the clipsubstantially midway between the ends of said clip, the intermediateportion of said clip being inwardly arched by the pressure exertedthereon when said nut is tightened whereby the edges of said nut at itsinner face are forced into line contact with the outer face of the clipalong transverse lines between the ends of the clip and said nut.

3. In a floor construction having a flanged sill and a floor boardsupported thereby, the combination of a perforated, longitudinallyarched clip formed of resilient sheet metal, said clip having its innerface at one end bearing against the floor board and its inner face atthe other end bearing against the flange of said sill; a screw threadedbolt anchored in the floor board and extending through the perforation,substantially midway between the ends of said clip; and a nut threadedonto the bolt against the outer face of the clip, the intermediateportion of said clip opposed to said nut being inwardly arched by thepressure exerted thereon when said nut is tightened whereby when the nutis disposed with one straight edge thereof on a line extendingtransversely of the clip, a line contact between the outer face of theclip and the straight edge of the nut is established for the purposespecified.

l. In a floor construction having a flanged sill and a floor boardsupported thereby, the combination of a perforated, longitudinallyarched clip formed of resilient sheet metal, said clip having its innerface at one end bearing against the floor board and its inner face atthe other end bearing against the flange of said sill; a screwthreadedbolt anchored in the floor board and extending through the perforation,substantially midway between the ends of said clip; and a nut threadedonto the bolt against the outer face of the clip, the intermediateportion of said clip opposed to said nut being inwardly arched by thepressure exerted thereon when said nut is tightened whereby when the nutis disposed with one straight edge thereof on a line extendingtransversely of the clip, a line contact between the outer face of theclip and the straight edge of the nut is established for the purposespecified, the perforation through said clip being elongated with itsmajor axis extending longitudinally of the clip, the transverse diameterof said perforation being substantially the same as the diameter of thesaid bolt.

5. In a floor construction having a flanged sill and a floor boardsupported thereby, the combination of a perforated, longitudinallyarched clip formed of resilient sheet metal, said clip having its innerface at one end bearing against the floor board and its inner face atthe other end bearing against the flange of said sill; a screw threadedbolt anchored in the floor board and extending through the perforation,substantially midway between the ends of said clip; and a nut threadedonto the bolt against the outer face of the clip, the intermediateportion of said clip opposed to said nut being inwardly arched by thepressure exerted thereon when said nut is tightened, said clip having aplurality of detents formed on the inwardly arched, intermediate portionof said clip adjacent to the edges of said nut when the latter is in theoperative position.

CLARENCE E. HOVEY.

